My biggest fear growing up was to repeat the same mistakes my father made. The last thing I wanted is to become a copy of my father. I didn’t want to handle my career the way he did. I didn’t want to be stuck in a city forever. I didn’t want to have negative relationships with my family and friends. I didn’t want to get stuck in a comfort zone.

So, I moved away to a big city, then a bigger city and, ultimately, to one of the biggest cities in the world. I carefully developed my career and made moves whenever I was stuck or about to get stuck. The moment I get too comfortable, I move on.

My father was a jokester. I tried to trick people, make them laugh, always had some funny retort ready.

Just like me.

Family and friends told me I wasn’t like him.

In the end, it wasn’t the big city, the career or the fear of a comfort zone.

In the end, it was about removing people from my world that could add negativity to my life. Spending time with people you admire, love and who inspire you is not about networking or entertainment. It’s about fighting off death.

You need to remove the people that will kill you. And snuggle into a blanket of people who give you life.